Stan, beautiful egg images! Thanks for sharing. I probably don't grow enough of their host plant to get many. The only plant I ever found them on in my garden was Cudweed, which is an annual I believe, that never got to flowering stage because the cats ate the tips of the plant down. I only had one plant that popped up from nowhere, and haven't seen any since. I do have Artemesia stelleriana, but just put out last year. So far, no cats. In my area of central Oklahoma, they are hit and miss butterflies, same good years, some not, same as its cousin, the Painted Lady. Please keep posting your pics as the cats emerge and grow. Susan

That definitely looks like a Question Mark caterpillar. From Dr. James Scott's CD-ROM, "The Butterflies of North America, "A Natural History and Field Guide." I recommend this for easy access to information on butterflies. Elm is listed at end of the list of host plants. __________________________________________ "Vanessa cardui Painted Lady Hostplants herb (rarely shrub or tree) Compositae: Cirsium arvense, texanum, discolor, vulgare, occidentale, muticum, altissimum, undulatum, breweri, neomexicanum, centaureae, solstitialis, hydrophilum, scopulorum, hesperium, Cynara scolymus, Onopordum acanthium, Silybum marianum, Carduus nutans, acanthoides, crispus, Arctium lappa, minus, Lappa officinalis, Cnicus benedictus, Artemisia frigida, stelleriana, vulgaris, ludoviciana var. gnaphalodes, Calendula officinalis, Centaurea solstitialis, nigra, Achillea millefolium, Anaphalis margaritacea, Helianthus annuus, argophyllus, Helianthella, Filago arvensis (Europe), Helichrysum, Lactuca sativa, Chrysanthemum, Parthenium argentatum, Senecio maritima (?), cineraria (?), Serratula (?), Wyethia glabra, Tanacetum, Xanthium pennsylvanicum var. canadense; Boraginaceae: Amsinckia douglasiana, Borago officinalis, Cryptantha angustifolia, Echium vulgare, Nonea, Anchusa officinalis, Symphytum officinale, Lycopsis; Malvaceae: Althaea rosea, officinalis, Malva parviflora, sylvestris, neglecta, nicaeensis, moschata, Sida hederacea, Sphaeralcea ambigua, Gossypium; Chenopodiaceae: Beta vulgaris, Chenopodium album (?); Hydrophyllaceae: Eriodictyon californicum, Phacelia campanularia; Leguminosae: Glycine max, Lupinus bicolor, albifrons, formosus, perennis, arboreus, argenteus, succulentus, arcticus var. subalpinus, Medicago sativa, Phaseolus vulgaris, Pisum sativum, Trifolium; Urticaceae: Soleirolia (Helxine), Parietaria, Urtica urens, dioica ssp. gracilis (?); Labiatae: Mentha, Salvia, Stachys sieboldii; Verbenaceae: Lantana; Solanaceae: Nicotiana glauca, Petunia, Solanum tuberosum; Rosaceae: Fragaria, Prunus (a tree); Convolvulaceae: Ipomoea batatas; Plantaginaceae: Plantago lanceolata; Cruciferae: Raphanus sativus; Polygonaceae: Rumex; Umbelliferae: Eryngium; vine Cucurbitaceae: Cucumis melo; shrub Rhamnaceae: Rhamnus; tree Ulmaceae: Ulmus americana; tree Rutaceae: Citrus sinensis; the grass Zea mays (in Europe). Obviously prefers Compositae, esp. Cirsium. Sometimes a pest on Iowa soybeans (Glycine). One larva eats about 234 square cm of soybean leaves in its lifetime, all but 7 square cm in the last two larval stages (F. Poston)."

Betty, The problem with the cats eating each other is mainly when there are later instar cats with the newly hatched. They are so much bigger and can move faster, the new babies can't get out of the way fast enough. So as long as they are all about the same size, you can "house" several cats together, provided there is enough room for them to pupate without being on top of each other. I purchased some small vases from Walmart and use those to keep the food fresh for the cats. The necks are rather small and keep the drownings down to a minimum, although some cats do occasionally go exploring and end up in the water. Enjoy your new hobby (aka obsession) and don't beat yourself up over the ones that don't make it to adulthood. It happens. Sometimes we don't know why, they just don't. Just the fact that you are providing them with food and a safe house free of parasites and would be assassins is a big help to them. I read somewhere that the survival rate is somewhere around 15% for butterflies in the "wild". In my experience, I have had about 85-90% survival, so I guess I am doing something right. About a week ago, I brought in some monarch eggs and never saw the cats emerge. So I left the leaves alone (they were in a cage with BST chrysalids) and yesterday, suddenly there were 3 cats on those dead, dried up leaves! (Boy were they happy when I supplied them with fresh food!)So, just because you don't see them right away doesn't always mean they didn't survive! Mechelle

Eloise before you know it you will be having your own beautiful plants again! HUGS Barb last year I had the butterfly ginger in morning sun and it did not bloom until fall. But it was also the 1st year after I got it from Kristy. this year I have it in afternoon sun and it has been blooming for a while already. But I do know that maybe it is the hot TX sun in the the summer that burns the leaf tips quite a bit. Good Question. Edna yours is so much darker then CB's. Is it like that with gingers...the older they are ir blooming more...the darker the color? Or does zones...heat etc play a factor with gingers also? Cause I sure LOVE those too. Lucy